CBF Canoe Trip, Part 2

Well, this part of the trip actually had no canoeing, but oh well. So we left off when we were at the Virginia Outdoor Center, camping in Fredericksburg.

We woke up on Thursday morning and headed to Fox Island! We got on the bus and traveled for about 2 hours to a grocery store to restock our supplies for the next few days. We all fell asleep on the bus ride over. I woke up at one point, sat up, and saw nobody. Everyone was out like a light. We got to Food Lion, and we all had a list of things to get. We quickly retrieved and purchased them, and then we headed to Smith Marina to catch a boat to Fox Island. It was a fun boat ride, and we all enjoyed looking at the water, feeling it spray on us, and getting to the Island. We got to the Island, and checked out the house. We looked around and meet 2 new leaders with CBF. The house was so cool. There were paintings all over the walls, cool little nick nacks found all over the islands, and my favorite part was a bunch of journals they had. Ever since 1985 people that have been coming to Fox Island have written memories and thank yous in the Fox Island journals. It was so neat to see. In the afternoon, we set some crab pots. Kissing fish, breaking them in half--delicious. That night the group went out on the dock and lied under the stars. We found different constellations, and just looked at the beauty of it all. It was amazing. All of us in the group really got to know each other at the house. We were all comfortable and acted ourselves as we played card games and enjoyed each other's company. It was fun. On Friday we woke up early enough to see the sunrise. We went out on the dock and watched it. Beautiful. Then we went and scraped the grasses and found all kinds of critters: crabs, pipe fish, grass shrimp, and even a puffer fish. Then we went back in and got ready to go marsh mucking. MARSH MUCKING. Now, you probably don't know what that is. Basically, we went and jumped around in mud and played games in the mud, had cannonball contests in the mud, and otter slide competitions. It was so much fun. The Marshes smelled like rotten eggs, but we didn't care. We went swimming in the Chesapeake Bay. Once we were done, we had a dock shower with salt water from the bay and camp soap, but we weren't complaining, because folks we hadn't showered for five days. FIVE DAYS on the river and canoeing and sweating and sleeping on the ground and no showers. But nobody really cared, because we all looked and smelled the same and we were having so much fun that it really didn't matter. After we got all showered and cleaned up from the mud, we headed into town, onto Tangier Island. There are only 550 residents on the island, and everybody knows each other and their business. We looked at how they lived compared to how we lived and enjoyed some of their tourist attractions, like gift shops, a local museum, and an ice cream shop. It was so much fun visiting the island. Friday night we had a crab boil with potatoes and corn and kielbasa for those who don't like crab. We all talked and relaxed, and five of us decided to sleep outside on the dock. We slept out under the stars and spotted tons of shooting stars. It was such a good memory. Probably a sight I will never forget. Saturday morning we woke up, packed up, and headed back home. Goodbye Fox Island. The trip was so wonderful. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.

Catching up on sleep on the bus ride. Mmm check out that hair grease. No shower is 5 days!

Grocery shopping

Isn't that little crab so cute?!

Group picture headed over to the island.

Boat ride :)

Meghan and I. Quite the duo.

Fox Island! The house!

The manikin near the Clivus, the composting toilet that uses zero water.

Finding critters in the habitats.

Us on the crows nest, overlooking the island.

Group picture before we went Marsh Mucking!

Ice cream place on Tangier Island. I had a strawberry cone :)

View of the dock on Fox Island and Big Island in the upper left corner.

Me with a crab on the boat.

Cooked Crabs

Meghan and I sleeping on the dock. Such a great memory!

I am so glad I had the chance to go on this trip. It was amazing, and I loved every single minute of it. I learned so much and got to see so many of God's creations, big and small. Experiences like this are truly captivating.